In this protest message to the Washington Post Parade Uriah J. Fields expresses his displeasure with the methodology used in the studies that Dianne Hales relied upon in writing her article,
"Why Prayer Could Be Good Medicine" and the prayer at the end of that article written by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." In his prayer, purportedly written for all faiths, Kushner did not use any name to indicate to whom the prayer was being addressed to, unlike twelfth century St. Francis of Asissi who began his classic prayer with "Lord... ."

Dianne Hales' article, "Why Prayer Could be Good Medicine " that appeared in the "Washington Post Parade" (March 23, 2003) left me perplexed and distrubed. Although the "scientific endeavor" to measure or validate the efficacy of prayer has some merit it is obvious to me that employing this approach, notwithstanding that some of the studies cited having been made under the auspices of universities, likely with the intention of making them appear to be creditable, I doubt the validity of this methodology. Furthermore, universities are not the preferred institutions to make reliable studies of prayer and faith. Considering the scientific approach, in this regard, reminds me of a man who attempts to measure the air pressure in his car tire using the scales he uses to weight bananas. Even his flat tire is likely to exceed its recommended air pressure weight capacity.

But what is even more disturbing for me about this article is the eschatological words or addendum contributed by Rabbi Harold Kushner in "A Prayer for the World." This prayer is addressed to nobody, in particular or in general. Upon reading it I immediately recalled these words of James Baldwin, "Nobody Knows my name," that is also the title of one of his books. Martin Luther declares "Let God be God." St. Francis of Assisi, begins his classic prayer written in the twelfth century with these words, "Lord make me an instrument of your peace," and continuing he said, "Oh God grant.. ." The Bible begins with these words, "In the beginning God."

For Kushner to say, "Let the rain... sun... earth... and... mountains" perform extraordinary feats without acknowledging the Creator of the rain,sun, earth and mountains is disturbing for me. Perhaps, it was his intention not to offend anyone that led him to not acknowledge God in his prayer. But, in my opinion, this shows his lack of courage and brazen disrespect for God.

For God's sake call Him by some name even if it is by His name spelled backwards. In my epic poem, "Some Call It Et Cetera; I Call it God," I acknowleded that "some call it evolution, a natural phenomenon, beauty , religion, etc., but I call it God." Even Christians accept Jesus and God.

Shame on you Rabbi Kushner! Whatever we say or do let us be sure to acknowledge God. All that we understand reveals that there is but one God Who may be called by different names. But for Him to be nameless is unimaginable. Howard Thurman speaks powerfully to the point that I have endavored to make regarding man and what he says is even more relevant when considering God. He writes in "The Inward Journey":
"The name marks the claim a man stakes against the world;... .
The name is a man's watermark
above which the tides can never rise;
It is a strange freedom to be adrift
in the world of men,... to go nameless."

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Uriah J. Fields
P.O. Box 4770
Charlottesville, VA 22905